From its unusual jokey cover of his Uncle Charles to the diverse amalgam of styles (jazz, R&B, pop) covered over its two discs, Spirit Trail is Bruce Hornsby at his most difficult to pin down. Whereas his work with the Ran... more &raquoge set standards for '80s adult-contemporary pop, Hornsby is now determined to move from the middle of the road to new territory. The unusual piano breaks throughout the first disc ("Resting Place" detours into fuzak), the sprightly hip-hop rhythms, the horns that punctuate "Line in the Dust," the simple, playful pop pleasures of "Shadow Hand" prove Hornsby can grow. He's still a super technician with ambitious production and arrangement designs, but his singing has grown more soulful with age. He'll never cut a convincing barrelhouse tune, as "Preacher in the Ring Pt. 1" attests, but his journey into Steely Dan-type sophistication brings his approach new life. --Rob O'Connor&laquo less

Synopsis

Amazon.com

From its unusual jokey cover of his Uncle Charles to the diverse amalgam of styles (jazz, R&B, pop) covered over its two discs, Spirit Trail is Bruce Hornsby at his most difficult to pin down. Whereas his work with the Range set standards for '80s adult-contemporary pop, Hornsby is now determined to move from the middle of the road to new territory. The unusual piano breaks throughout the first disc ("Resting Place" detours into fuzak), the sprightly hip-hop rhythms, the horns that punctuate "Line in the Dust," the simple, playful pop pleasures of "Shadow Hand" prove Hornsby can grow. He's still a super technician with ambitious production and arrangement designs, but his singing has grown more soulful with age. He'll never cut a convincing barrelhouse tune, as "Preacher in the Ring Pt. 1" attests, but his journey into Steely Dan-type sophistication brings his approach new life. --Rob O'Connor

Member CD Reviews

An underated album, at least on SwapaCD. If you go to Amazon, 88+% of 54 reviews gave it 5 stars on a scale of 5 (I give it 4+).

1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

CD Reviews

King of the Hill.

Jason Stein | San Diego, CA United States | 03/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Does Hornsby make poor music? No. Six albums and not one is disposable. Hornsby is a trained pianist and he did his time before hitting it big with "The Way It Is" in 1986. He won best new artist in 1987 and hasn't looked back since. He could have capitalized on his success by repeating himself over and over, but he hasn't. He could have sold out and made radio friendly, accessible pop tunes, but he didn't. Spirit Trail is arguably his best album to date. I am a fan, so I like them all, and some of his earlier albums are great, but I think on bravery and originality none of them matches Spirit Trail. Two discs of classic Hornsby. Great songs like "King Of The Hill", "Resting Place", Preacher In The Ring, Pt.1", "Song C", "Pete & Manny", "Fortunate Son", "Sneaking Up On Boo Radley", "Great Divide" on disc one to "Line In The Dust", "See The Same Way", "Shadow Hand", "Sunlight Moon", "Listen To The Silence", "Sunflower Cat", "Song D" and "Swan Song." Hornsby's piano playing hasn't sounded this fresh and interesting since Scenes From The Southside in 1988. His storytelling is remarkable and for two discs he is never boring or repetitive. Hornsby has talent, something many pop stars fake. This is a must have for any rock collector."

Bloated, But Still a Great Album

Steven R. Seim | Beaver Dam, WI United States | 07/12/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Spirit Trail" is a 60-minute masterpiece buried in 90 minutes of music. "Fortunate Son" is Bruce's most hauntingly moving ballad since "Mandolin Rain," "Sunflower Cat" is irresistably funky, and "Sad Moon," "Shadow Hand," and "Swan Song" are just great songs. It's a pleasure to hear some instrumental interludes as well ("Song C," etc.). "Spirit Trail" is a unique and worthy contribution to American music.However, the album could have been improved tremendously by leaving out a few weak tracks. In particular, "Preacher in the Ring" (recorded in two different versions, no less) is both musically uninteresting and lyrically stupid (is Bruce trying to make fun of actual religious fundamentalists, or is this his "clever" way of comparing Christian conservatives with snake handlers?).Buy this album, but don't be afraid to skip over a few tracks."

Two disc masterpiece.

Jason Stein | San Diego, CA United States | 02/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Any time I see an artist releasing a double album I get a dreadful sensation. How am I going to listen to two hours of music by this artist? Well, I should have known. I've been a long time Hornsby fan and this is his best album since 1988's Scenes from the Southside. Why? Well, this two cd set offers many upbeat tunes with a wide range of social topics. There are instrumentals (which Hornsby's 5 previous albums have been lacking), there are ballads, there are songs that make you think, make you feel good, make you feel sad, and in the end the two discs are over and you want to listen again. I was very surprised by Hornsby because his last two cds were good but missing something. Spirit Trail is Hornsby back to form. I am ashamed of U.S. radio stations catering so much to those under 20 years of age. Who thinks that teenagers wouldn't like Hornsby? Are the Backstreet Boys more important than Hornsby? I think not. I was 13 when I became a Hornsby fan, why "King of the Hill" wasn't a hit I don't know. There's plenty of good songs on this set. Wake up RCA records! You have a talented musician easily compared to Billy Joel or Elton John and you overlook him. Didn't Bruce win best new artist? I see "Song C" is nominated for best intrumental on a rock album--what a shame it should be Best Album nominee. Whatever happened to Graceland or Back in the High Life Again or Private Dancer? All of those were people over 30 making great music and teenagers were listening too. Spirit Trail was one of the best cds released in 1998."

Spirit Trail is best Horsnby album in years ...

Jason Stein | 10/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why Spirit Trail by Bruce Horsnby is not being played on radio and heard by more people is absolutely puzzling to me. This album is the best Hornsby has put out since his first two (The Way It Is, Scenes From The Southside). It is chockful of really fine tunes. I'm surprised that radio has not embraced some of these songs - Swan Song, Fortunate Son, Sunlight Moon, Shadow Hand - they are all radio-friendly. The people want something new - this is the real thing. This one is for the ages. Buy Spirit Trail and you'll be listening to it for the next twenty years."

Hornsby does it again....but in a different way

andy | Toronto, Canada | 06/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another great album put out by Bruce, but still somehow different from Hot House and Harbor Lights. I think it is the fact that it's not as totally jazz-influenced. I think we hear a lot more (rock) guitar on this cd, not like on his previous two projects where Metheny's jazz guitar (and even some sitar) was more evident. Of course there are some very jazz-oriented songs such as "Sneaking Up on Boo Radley" and "Sad Moon" which is a very pretty track. On "Sad Moon" we are not lead through a typical hornsby song. About half of "Sad Moon" was a jazz-piano solo. I feel he really is showing us his technical skill in Spirit Trail, as there are some tracks where there is just piano such as "Song C", "Song D" and "Variations of Swan Song & Song D". I bet a lot of people feel the cd should have been condensed or a lot "tighter" but I don't think so. In addition, I love how Hornsby songs don't just tell a story or talk about important social ascpects but how they are really very catchy. I particularly love "Resting Place", "Line in the Dust" (which is my favourite)and "Swan Song". "King of the Hill" just blew me away with the two hand piano work. You hear him do something with his left hand over and over again while doing something completely different with his right. Almost like an ostinato. These are some of the best songs I have ever heard from Hornsby. I feel even "Fortunate Son", "Listen to the Silence", "Sunlight Moon" and "The Great Divide" deserve a lot of respect and attention. I have seen a lot of reviews and I notice many people don't like "Preacher in the Ring". I actually loved these songs but especially the second part. They have a beautiful rural feel and remind me of some of his previous tales such as Country Doctor. Anyways, Spirit Trail in my mind is the best cd of 1998."